Soundtrack Music – ruminations, reviews and interviews

As a member of the International Film Music Critics Association I am delighted to publish the associations nominations for 2015.

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED; OCTOGENARIAN VETERANS JOHN WILLIAMS AND ENNIO MORRICONE LEAD THE FIELD, MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS FOR MICHAEL GIACCHINO, LATE JAMES HORNER

FEBRUARY 4, 2016. The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2015, for the 12th annual IFMCA Awards. The most nominated composers are industry veterans John Williams and Ennio Morricone, as well as Michael Giacchino, and the late James Horner.

83-year old John Williams receives four nominations, all for his score for the smash hit sci-fi adventure “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” directed by J. J. Abrams, which is nominated for Score of the Year, Best Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror score, and Film Music Composition of the Year. Williams also receives a personal nomination as Composer of the Year. Williams has previously been nominated for 31 IFMCA Awards, winning on 12 occasions, including Score of the Year for “Memoirs of a Geisha” in 2005 and “War Horse” in 2011.

87-year old Italian legend Ennio Morricone receives four nominations; three for his score from director Quentin Tarantino’s dark western “The Hateful Eight,” which is recognized in the Score of the Year, Best Drama score, and Film Music Composition of the Year categories, and one for himself as Composer of the Year. Morricone has been nominated for IFMCA Awards on seven previous occasions; his last Score of the Year nomination was in 1999, for “La Leggenda del Pianista sull’Oceano [The Legend of 1900]”.

Michael Giacchino’s nominations are split between three works: the moving Disney-Pixar animated film “Inside Out,” which is nominated for Best Animation score; the ambitious science fiction epic “Jupiter Ascending,” which is nominated for Score of the Year and Best Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror score; and the fantasy adventure “Tomorrowland,” which is nominated in the Film Music Composition of the Year category. Giacchino has previously been nominated for a total of 31 IFMCA Awards, winning twelve of them. He won the Best Score award in 2004 for “The Incredibles,” in 2009 for “Up,” and was named Composer of the Year in both those years.

James Horner, who was tragically killed in a plane crash this past June, receives three nominations for his score for the Chinese-language drama “Wolf Totem” directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, which is recognized in the Score of the Year, Best Drama score, and Film Music Composition of the Year categories. Horner is also nominated as Composer of the Year, and in so doing becomes the first composer to be nominated in this category posthumously. Prior to this year, Horner’s lifetime IFMCA tally stood at 14 nominations, with one win, for “The Mask of Zorro,” in 1998.

The other nominee for Score of the Year is Patrick Doyle’s score for the romantic Disney fantasy “Cinderella,” while the other composer vying for the title of Composer of the Year is Daniel Pemberton, who wrote several outstanding scores in 2015, including the big-screen reboot of the 1960s spy thriller franchise “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” and “Steve Jobs,” a dramatic look at the inner workings of the Apple corporation across several decades.

Each year the IFMCA goes out of its way to recognize emerging talent in the film music world, and this year is no exception. The nominees in the Breakthrough Composer of the Year category include the alternative pop group Cat’s Eyes – comprising English musician Faris Badwan and Italian-Canadian soprano/composer/instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira – who wrote a dream-like score for the experimental British erotic film “The Duke of Burgundy”; British composer Gareth Coker, for his immensely popular score for the video game “Ori and the Blind Forest”; Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, who brought the spirit of Rocky Balboa back to life with his score for the boxing drama “Creed”; Italian composer Maurizio Malagnini, whose scores for the British fantasy film “Peter and Wendy,” as well as the popular TV series “Call the Midwife,” caught the attention of the group; and Spanish composer Diego Navarro, whose score for the animated film “Atrapa la Bandera [Capture the Flag]” was a rousing celebration of the heroism of space exploration.

As it has in previous years, the IFMCA takes pride in honoring composers from across the film music world; this year’s international nominees include French composer Armand Amar for his score from the expansive documentary feature “Human,” Hungarian composer Robert Gulya for his charming music for the adventurous Mark Twain adaptation “Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn,” Argentine composer Federico Jusid for his superb work on the Spanish TV series “Carlos, Rey Emperador” (the sequel to the multi-IFMCA Award-winning “Isabel”), veteran French composer Michel Legrand for his delightful score for the comedy “La Rançon de la Gloire [The Price of Fame],” Spanish composer Fernando Velázquez for his chilling work on the beautiful gothic horror film “Crimson Peak,” and French-Lebanese composer Gabriel Yared for his score for the poetic and philosophical animated film “Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet”.

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence; music by John Williams, album produced by Mike Matessino, liner notes by Jeff Bond, album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)

Braveheart; music by James Horner, album produced by Dan Goldwasser and Mike Matessino, liner notes by Jeff Bond, album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)

Dances With Wolves; music by John Barry, album produced by Didier C. Deutsch, Mark G. Wilder, and Ford A. Thaxton, liner notes by Randall D. Larson, album art direction by Mark Banning (La-La Land)

Jaws; music by John Williams, album produced by Mike Matessino, liner notes by Scott Bettencourt, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)

Obsession; music by Bernard Herrmann, album produced by George Litto, Laurent Lafarge, and Cyril Durand-Roger, liner notes by Daniel Schweiger, album art direction by David Marques (Music Box)

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE – RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE

Back in Time: 1985 at the Movies; music by Various Artists, performed by the Varèse Sarabande Symphony Orchestra cond. David Newman, album produced by Robert Townson, liner notes by Robert Townson, album art direction by Robert Townson, Bill Pitzonka, and Matthew Joseph Peak (Varèse Sarabande)

Concert Suites/Music For Films; music by Fernando Velázquez, performed by the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra and Landarbaso Chorus cond. Fernando Velázquez, album produced by Fernando Velázquez and José M. Benitez, liner notes by Fernando Velázquez, Koldo Serra, Juan Antonio Bayona, and Oskar Santos, album art direction by Nacho B. Govantes (Quartet)

Obsession; music by Bernard Herrmann, performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Nic Raine, album produced by James Fitzpatrick, liner notes by Christopher Husted, album art direction by Matthew Wright and Damien Doherty (Tadlow)

Sodom and Gomorrah; music by Miklós Rózsa, performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Nic Raine, album produced by James Fitzpatrick, liner notes by Frank K. DeWald, album art direction by Matthew Wright, James Fitzpatrick and Ginko Digi (Tadlow/Prometheus)

The Music of Patrick Doyle for Solo Piano; music by Patrick Doyle, performed by Patrick Doyle, album produced by Patrick Doyle and Robert Townson, liner notes by Patrick Doyle, album art direction by Robert Townson and Bill Pitzonka (Varèse Sarabande)

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE – COMPILATION

Alan Silvestri: World Soundtrack Awards; music by Alan Silvestri, album produced by Sian Bolland and Reynold d’Silva, liner notes by Raf Butstraen, album art direction by Stuart Ford (Film Fest Gent/Silva Screen)

Double Indemnity: Film Noir at Paramount; music by Various Artists, album produced by Lukas Kendall, liner notes by Scott Bettencourt, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)

Lost in Space: 50th Anniversary Soundtrack Collection; music by Various Artists, album produced by Jeff Bond and Neil S. Bulk, liner notes by Jeff Bond, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (La-La Land)

Mission: Impossible – The Television Scores; music by Various Artists, album produced by Jon Burlingame, liner notes by Jon Burlingame, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (La-La Land)

Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection; music by Various Artists, album produced by Randy Thornton, liner notes by Various, album art direction by Lorelay Bové (Disney)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR

Intrada Records, Douglass Fake, Roger Feigelson

La-La Land Records, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys

Quartet Records, José M. Benitez

Tadlow Music, James Fitzpatrick

Varése Sarabande, Robert Townson

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The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film, television and game music.

Since its inception the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 65 members from countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Hans Zimmer’s “Interstellar” in 2014, Abel Korzeniowski’s “Romeo & Juliet” in 2013, Mychael Danna’s “Life of Pi” in 2012, John Williams’s “War Horse” in 2011, John Powell’s “How to Train Your Dragon” in 2010, Michael Giacchino’s “Up” in 2009, Alexandre Desplat’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in 2008, Dario Marianelli’s “Atonement” in 2007, James Newton Howard’s “Lady in the Water” in 2006, John Williams’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s “The Incredibles” in 2004.